What to do if you have a relative in a nursing home during the coronavirus outbreak

• In a bid to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, officials are limiting visits to nursing and long-term care homes in some states.
• Although it can be frightening to have little or no physical access to an older relative in a nursing home, there are ways to feel close and provide support from a distance, or to safely visit a long-term care facility.
• If you can't visit, send care packages and check in through a call or video chat. If you can visit, take extra care to wash your hands.
• You shouldn't visit an elderly person if you have respiratory illness symptoms.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As the infection rate from the coronavirus climbs, it's natural to want to comfort relatives who are most vulnerable to the virus, such as older people in nursing homes.

But in a bid to control the spread, industry leaders announced on Tuesday that all care homes should limit visits.

Already, there have been 18 coronavirus-related deaths at a long-term care facility in Washington called Life Care Center, and 70 of the 180 staff members at the facility are sick, according to the New York Times. 

Since the older people at Life Care Center and similar facilities often have underlying health conditions, they're more susceptible to developing severe cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, especially since they live in close quarters with other susceptible people.

Although it can be disheartening to have little or no physical access to an older loved one in a nursing home, there are ways to feel close and provide support from a distance. 

If you're barred from visiting the facility, take a digital approach

You can still create emotional closeness and comfort by checking in on your elderly relatives through a phone call or video call.

Dr. Sean Morrison, the chair for the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, said it's also important to have faith and trust in the staff of care facilities because they're trained to offer much-needed support when families aren't available.

"A lot of that comfort is provided on a regular basis when we're not facing a COVID-19 challenge," Morrison told Insider. "So I think to reassure families of people in long-term care and nursing homes that compassion is there and their loved ones will be well cared for," is important.

Morrison also said families should urge their relatives in nursing homes to form bonds with the staff if they haven't already because that can offer them companionship during times when visitations aren't allowed.

You could also send your relative a thoughtful care package with their favorite snacks, entertaining books, or a sweet message. 

If the facility allows visitors, take extra care to practice good hygiene

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

In the event that you can visit your loved one, you should only do so under specific circumstances. 

If you've recently traveled to any of the countries on the CDC's travel restrictions list, for example, you should stay home. Since the coronavirus is spreading in the US now too, Morrison said anyone who has respiratory infection symptoms like a cough or sore throat should also abstain from visiting, because those symptoms, while linked to many illnesses, are also symptoms of COVID-19.

If you're healthy and haven't traveled to the countries in question, you're set to visit. Before you go to the facility to see your relative, Morrison said to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and warm water.

Once at the facility, be sure to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after touching any door knobs. If using an elevator, Morrison suggested pressing the elevator buttons with your elbow.

"Once you are with your loved one, people should avoid hand-to-hand contact, hugs, and kisses," Morrison said. "What we know so far is that it is not an airborne virus. It's transmitted through respiratory secretions either by directly breathing in droplets from someone who has coughed and sneezed within 6 feet of you, or through touching a surface on which droplets recently fell and then self-infecting yourself from your hands."

Ask nursing home personnel about their cleaning protocols

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

Whether you get to set foot in the nursing home or not, one way to make sure your loved one is safe is to ask the nursing home's staff about the current cleaning protocols, either in person or over the phone.

Morrison said these facilities should have daily temperature and symptom checks for both residents and staff and have a system in place where staff who feel ill stay home from work.

He also said the facility should keep their staff assigned to specific teams rather than moving them around. That way, they're not moving across different units or buildings within the facility, which could contribute to germ spread, Morrison said.

You should also ask about group dining and events in the facility. 

"Social distancing is challenging [in nursing homes] because what you also are worried about is the sense of isolation, particularly for people who have cognitive impairment or dementia within a nursing home," Morrison said. "But limiting group activities to small numbers, and group dining should be quite small rather than large group dining," to keep residents protected.

Contact your local health department if facility conditions appear concerning

Lastly, facilities should have signs that ask anyone with respiratory illness symptoms to stay outside and the front desk should ask visitors about their recent travels.

If you're worried by any of the cleaning protocols or practices, Morrison said you should contact the local state health department to file a complaint.

Although it may feel like the best option to remove your relative from their nursing facility, Morrison said these places are often best equipped to care for people with unique or severe conditions.

"In an ideal world, somebody with functional impairment, cognitive impairment, or a serious medical illness is probably safer at home with unlimited caregivers and limited exposure to other people with serious," Morrison said.

"That being said, most people who are in nursing homes in this country are there because they or their families don't have the resources to provide that type of care at home. And so they are really [in the nursing home] because there is no other institution, no other place that can meet their needed level of care."

Source: Read Full Article